[4] Under the York University Act 1959 legislation, York was once an affiliated institution of the University of Toronto, where the first cohort of faculty and students originally utilized the Falconer Hall building[5] (now part of the Faculty of Law)[6] as a temporary home before relocating north of the St. George campus to Glendon Hall — an estate that was willed by Edward Rogers Wood for post-secondary purposes.

[9] Murray G. Ross and diplomat Escott Reid, who mutually proposed a novel plan for the college to educate students for fields in civil service, governance and academia, were appointed president and principal in 1959 and 1965, respectively.

[10] In 1966, Glendon was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson with the objective of "helping its students develop an informed and active interest in public affairs; by encouraging them to become committed to improving the community in which they live; the country of which they are citizens; and the world which they occupy.

Due to this, the Government of Ontario declared Glendon the country's first "Centre of Excellence for French language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education," in collaboration with Collège Boréal.

In addition, a variety of non-credit classes and programmes are offered by the college to students, faculty and the general public including introductory courses in foreign languages (Arabic, Cantonese, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Tibetan); indigenous languages in Inuktitut and Ojibway; and professional development courses in English and French.

[16] This bilingual approach to university education is said to be unique in Canada, because all students within Glendon College are required to study both English and French.

The Université de l'Ontario français was established in April 2018 whose sole instructional language was French to serve francophones in the Central and Southwestern Ontario region.

[22] Glendon is a primarily undergraduate institution where academics are rooted in the liberal arts tradition, although the college mainly specializes in the social sciences and humanities.

This policy is meant to give students the resources of a larger university while retaining the qualities and features of a small college.

The college's proximity to Yonge and Eglinton and Downtown Toronto makes its location ideal for students who want to partake in the city's diverse array of social and cultural attractions.

The Salon Francophone, situated in the main building, is a social resource centre and a club, which organizes multiple activities to promote the French language.

[26] The Spanish Resource Centre library at Glendon is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Education of the Government of Spain and the Hispanic studies department of York University.

Glendon's founder and first principal was Canadian diplomat Escott Reid, who foresaw the institution's key mandate to educate future leaders of Canada in both official languages.